Cappies Review: McLean High School's 'The Children's Hour'

PHOTO (from left to right): Jordan Prather, Rachel Kulp, Anna Kate Womack; PHOTO by Summer McCollough, student, McLean High School

By Charlie Trochlil of Loudoun Valley High School

It's easy to forget the insidious power of words. Children especially have a tendency to speak without knowledge of the consequences. In their production of "The Children's Hour," McLean High School explored the chilling gravity that words can possess, and left their audience with a deeply poignant unease. Written in 1934 by Lilian Hellman, "The Children's Hour" centers on Karen Wright and Martha Dobie, two headmistresses of an all-girls boarding school.

When a problematic student named Mary lies to her grandmother about the two women being lovers, their school, their reputations and their lives are summarily ruined. The show explores themes of sexuality, identity and the power of rumor.

Central to the performance were Jordan Prather, as Martha Dobie and Anna Kate Womack, as Karen Wright. The two conversed with excellent timing and were always attentive to the other while listening. Dobie's performance was marked by deep consciousness of her vocal dynamics and a strong ability to tug at her audience's heartstrings without employing her full intensity. Womack's performance, while much more subdued, lent a thorough view of emotional devastation through her silence and reservation.

Antagonizing the two leads was Rachel Kulp, a freshman in the role of Mary Tilford. Between her childlike outbursts of rage, consistent control of a bratty tone and wickedly calculated crocodile tears, Kulp was a tiny emotional terrorist that any audience member would love to hate. Twisting a dollhouse image of the set between scenes, the borderline sociopath claimed a hugely memorable and chillingly thematic role as the young puppetmaster.

The show employed an original score by student Jared Jacknow, which juxtaposed a deep bassline of strings with a music-box-esque xylophone melody to create a deeply unnerving musical theme for the show's transitions. The light design worked in tandem with the music and found striking angles to heighten the dramatic effect of Mary's deadpan presence on stage during transitions.

In a show where period is so pivotal to the plot, the prop designers, costume artists and hair and makeup team created a phenomenally consistent and immersive view of the 1930s. Identically styled but differently colored dresses were introduced in the third act to indicate the former headmistresses' new and colorless existence. A combination of realistic wigs for the older women, well-coiffured curls for the teachers, and plainly cut or braided hair for the girls created distinction in age, leaving the audience to wonder whether there were not only high schoolers on stage.

Without extravagance, the set for the show cleanly illustrated the repurposed farmhouse with its rough roof and plain walls, and after a smooth 180 degree turn, the living room of Amelia Tilford. In both settings, the attention to detail elevated relatively simple sets into deeply engrossing pieces of history.With cohesive technical brilliance and a terrifyingly understated antagonist, McLean's production of "The Children's Hour" reminded its viewer of the danger in gossip.